Playmonster
NEW - Retro Classic WOOLY WILLY Magnetic Art and Drawing Toy
- Regular price
- $35.00
- Sale price
- $35.00
- Regular price
Description
NEW - Classic Retro Wooly Willy
Magnetic Art Toy
Wooly Willy is a Classic Retro American Toy invention that originated in the United States back in the 1950's.
Use the included magnetic wand to get creative and move iron powder around on Wooly Willy's face, to create sideburns, mustaches or a variety of different hairstyles. Try drawing the silly designs shown, then get creative and draw your own! The possibilities are endless, and this classic toy provides hours of battery and electricity free entertainment!
To start, hold the card down flat and place the magnetic end of the wand against plastic and over powder material. Powder will cling to the wand and can be moved in place. Lift wand to drop the powder in the place you want it.
Key Features:
- Manufactured in the USA
- Shavings are sealed inside a heavy duty plastic bubble face
- Original graphics and Wooly Willy packaging
- No Batteries or electricity required - just old fashioned family fun!
Includes:
- 1 x Magnetic Wooly Willy
- 1 x Magnetic Wand
Recommended For Ages: 3 Years+
Dimensions: 22 cm x 18 cm x 0.5 cm
Brief Toy History:
Wooly Willy's history began in Pennsylvania USA when two brothers Donald and James Herzog, working for the Smethport Specialty Company come up with the idea of using the waste metal shavings from a production line to produce a toy that would with the help of magnets would move the shavings around on a cardboard face to create hair styles, moustaches and beards and hence the idea for Wooly Will was born. In 1955 they filed a patent and shortly afterwards as luck would have it, the company picked up a contract from the US Army to develop vacuum sealed plastic packaging and the brothers decided that this same concept could be used to secure the metal filings within a clear plastic bubble face and with the help of the magnetic wand, the fillings could be moved around within Willy's face and from there Wooly Willy was born.
In the beginning, no one wanted Wooly Willy. Most toy store buyers thought it was a poor concept and wouldn't sell. Finally, a buyer for the G. C. Murphy dime store chain gave Wooly Willy a chance by ordering six dozen of the toys which the sold for $0.29c each. These sold out within days and so the company placed an order for a further 12,000 units and when these also sold out within weeks, the brothers quickly realised they had a hit toy on their hands.
Over the years there have been several attempts to imitate the success of Wooly Willy, by both making larger versions and smaller versions and featuring different characters. Some were poor quality and reportedly fell apart within hours of their first use, which has only helped to improve Wooly Willy's popularity, enabling the company to promote their use of high quality components in the manufacturing process and their high quality standards.
Wooly Willy however has stood up to the test of time and has to manage avoiding the fate of so many other toys by continuing to be manufactured in the USA. In 1965, production was moved to Magnetic Avenue on Route 59 just west of Smethport, PA, where it continues to be manufactured today.
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